I am new to ribs and I am looking to buy a small rib to use for fishing. I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions for a decent second hand rib of about 6.5m ?

One thing that did cross my mind though was if there was such a thing as a rib with solid plastic tubes or something similar? Maybe not quite rib in spirit but I was worried about hooks and fish spines going through regular inflateable tubes etc.

Anyone had any thoughts or experience in that respect. other than just be very careful of course!

I will ( always a problem with my name!) ... I Will be Coppin with the worry of punctures until I can find a sure fire way of reducing the chances of holes and dealing with the fish in the boat safely.

One reason coast guard uses ribs is so they can easily tie up to other vessels without damaging either boat. They have to be able to withstand cuts and abrasions from barnacles and other sticky growths. Having said that, I use mine extensively for fishing in the gulf of mexico. Lots of fish with shaking heads and big teeth: sharks, cudas, king macrel. Sometimes if I am catching big sharks I hang a blanket over the side that was designed to protect car fenders while welding. It has grommets and just hangs on the tubes with S hooks.

I think you're worrying unnecessarily. We're talking about a 6.5m RIB here (aka Ark Royal) to those who have fished with SIBs and small RIBs.

At this size, the tube material is more than likely going to be hypalon. Even Strongan Duotex (Zodiac's PVC material) is robust enough to withstand a stray hook. A little common sense and care when you're fishing is all that's required. Hell - you're not landing swordfish!

Use a decent boat rod (8' in length) and have a plastic fish box on board. On a strike - then retrieve the fish as normal. When it's close to the surface, then swing it high over the tube and into the fish box. The rod can now be placed on the deck of the boat. With the fish and the hook (or hooks if you're using a mackerel line) safely in the box - you can remove it. Decide whether you're keeping the fish and despatch it with a priest quickly, job done.

One thing I've found is fishing tackle bags are a waste of time. Invariably they get soaked and slide about. A tackle box with multi-compartments is the way to go. Secure when underway.

Will, I have been fishing in the Solent from a RIB for over 5 years without a problem. What I have an issue with is that visitor anglers seem to like propping their rods up against my outboard The other disadvantage is that there is no cover or shelter from the elements, so winter fishing is only for true hard nuts.

Will as others have said in reality the risk of puncturing a decent set of tubes with fish hooks is pretty low. If there was a particular area you felt was vulnerable, you could add an extra wear patch or temporary protection when fishing. The issue other than hooks and spikey fish is careless friends with knives. They might not actually slash your tubes but scratches and scrapes are almost as annoying!

There are boats available with solid molded plastic tubes. These have another advantage - they are usually made from UHMW polythene and so are extremely low maintainence and if you spill fish guts all over them will just need a hose to clean out. BogMonster has highlighted one brand (Mac) but there are others, some look more / less rib like. These are all rotomolded (if you search that term you'll find my previous post on the topic), and extremely robust. But I think you might struggle to get one a 6.5m (Atlantic Focus have a 6+m in their range but its not rib style).

Another option is a plastic tube with a more conventional hull, eg. Flugga boats? and there was someone recently posting on the US part of this forum making PE boats from "sheet" welded together.

The final option is foam filled tubes, but these are rate and normally only found on commercial vessels.